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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 28, 1996)
VIEWPOINTS » 01 f 0 H IA t OPifCUXS KMIHS JO 1 Mt IDlfO* Supreme Court ruling means new tolerance ■ OUR OPINION: Rights of all aliens should be defended by courts Last week , Ilia Supreme Court overturned Amend ment 2. an amendment that banned aril ( disc rimmatiun protection far homosexuals in Colorado. The Supreme Court** 6-/ruling lui« opened the entire nation's eyes to the fact that gay rights are not about sex but about every citizen* right to equal protection under the law. One of the moat amazing facts about the Supreme Court's movement is that Oregon was one of seven states that filed an amicus brief in the case. Apparent* ly. Oregon'* brief proved to lie quite persuasive because the justices' ruling was formed through its argu ment. With the OfIA currently collecting signatures in a hurried attempt to get their measure on the November ballot, Oregon c ould not have taken a better politic a! stance at a better lime. Hopefully, this ruling will force homophobic religious right organizations to realize the judicial system is no longer on their tide. Unfor tunately. before Amende ment 2 was ruled unconstitutional, the Supreme Court supfiorted the religious right and helped reinforce the stereo type that gay rights were aWit sex. The Bowers vs. Hardwick decision made by the Supreme Court nearly ten years ago creeled a platform for the anti-gay rights move ment Since that monumen tally unjust ruling, many cases of gay discrimination have either been ignored or diwarded by the Supreme Court But the May 20 motion will hopefully alter the court'* perception of these i .jam.. Amendment 2 wu crwit* ed and sponsored by Qjl orado for Family Valuev, a group that most likely share* a similar purpose with the OCA. Though 53 percent of Colorado's voting population approved Amendment 2. which i« a **ar> enough as It ia. the Amendment should have been declared unconstitu tional as soon as it reached the ballot But with this nation's unfortunate history of homophobia, ranging from Clinton's "don't ask. don't teir policy in the mil itary to the impossibility for gay couples to be legally married, it ia no wonder that this amendment made su much progress before it was *tnick down. This ruling should be used as a reminder that civil rights are still being denied to entire groups of people Though many people might say that civil rights am available to all citizens, cit ing the African American civil rights movement of the l‘too* as their prime exam ple, them are many other races and group* of people who are still suffering from discrimination. California's Proposition 187 is an exam ple of this discrimination and prejudice, generalizing that moat Latinos are illegal immigrants and deserve to lie deprived of health cam and a basic education. But the repeal of Amendment 2 gives hope that unjust legis lation that singles out or ignores entire groups of peo ple will be overturned or prevented in the future. IMI , MMUl (one D&CkinTON* I FoR A BALANCED IM>6£7 I TH£ hi£*T Ofy MC <snT foN€ 04V HC'I FOR Ic^rr?^, Q£Guun<vvs, |Twi-A/f*r oAVRe /saTt: ON£ DAV F OR ICVTTiNG ENTITLE 'n« N€nrDAVWC /SNi r owe MY M€*) FOR CP^ntocuMb MCAi-TU cAR£ cpsrs, me weu MY HE tiN'T. owe MV u6*J R>R £N£R(>Y eFf'Cltf+CY. TW€ NC*T DRY *€ «NT. r ycK/kwow WHAT VOO CALL TW? - A kifUcrroN Of TW£ AMEAtcah von*? _ n ^ Wttt» ■*=3 Is n{ »s roOAv -d Doesn’t understand Keith Cunningltem's latest convoluted diatribe (OOfi. May IS) promonly bit <omplete ignorant* of woman's issues and conttmt. Thera is nothing wrong with being angry end drawing attention to the brut*! rape that occurred on our campus We resit** that date and acquain tance rape* comprise the vat! majority of rape* that occur, hut that don* not decrease the impact of this i rime The goal of .HaJertd* it to dermaae rapra and tec ual asMult on camput and to provide access to ntghmme event* fa* woman who would otherwise (eel unsafe walking at night We do not appreciate his claim that we deliver women to rapists Alto, insinuating that groups like Safaride are 'turning our becks" to atT other forms of sexual assault is ludicrous Would Keith prefer that we ignore the violent rape that took place May 12’ The emotions and cunt eras that have suriatsd over the peat week are worth everyone's attention Thera are other groups on campus, such at Ihe Speaker's Bureau, the Office of Student Ufa. the Resident* Hells and the Women's Cents* that edu cate student* about date and acquaintance rape Perhaps if Cunningham would look around and take the responsibility at educating himself on these issues, we would he spared hit ignorant com menu concerning women A* long as Cunningham is pretentious enough to assume that he can speak for women, he will never begin to understand feminism Jenna Wasson Project Satarx* co-dtractor Arm Watieniua ASUO Women s Center Survivors Finn. I want to thank Doug Irving (or hi* fine coverage (OUK, May 17) of the Take Back the Night Rally on Thursday evening. May 16 It was a mov ing an«l important event, and it* value was con veyed by Irving However, there la one significant point on which 1 need to comment In hit description of my participation in the event. Irving twite used the term “victim" — once in reference to me. and once regarding the other woman whose poems I teed The term "rape victim" ta one I never use to describe myself or others who have been sexual ly assaulted because it tends to imprison the per son who has been attacked and puts them into a position of powerless ness, fear and further “vic timisation. * instead. I prefer the term "survivor." because it places the emphasis on our strength in living through and overcoming our trauma Rape is such a horrible crime because it invade* the body and soul, undermining the person's sense of value and identity But when a woman who has been raped begin* to see herself as a survivor, she can shift her focu» away from the event end it* dehumanizing effect*, end begin to rediscover her value end strength. Calling • rape survivor a "victim" pushes her bath inside the emotional prison she ha* fought so hard to escape. While this shift from victim fa survivor is an tmportantpari of our healing process, it is often not easy. Those around us can help by sharing not only the changed terminology, but the changed attitude that must accompany it. Indeed, this shift is what "Take Back the Night is all about: empowering women ami teaching men that violence against us is unacceptable. Elizabeth Ctaman Graduate student. Comparative Literature Smith's triumphs 1 heard a collective groan rise from the masses when the attack ads on Tom Hruggere began air tog recently The frustration over negative ads ha* been stirred again, and at Cordon Smith's head quarters in take Oswego, Smith's staffers felt the same displeasure. Smith was in no way responsible for the sds —• they were produced independently by the Republican National Committee Smith has placed a personal call to RNC to ask that the ad* he pulled Gordon Smith is a man of integrity who wants to be Oregon's next U.S. Senator. His response to the negative ads is only one example of his com moment to Oregon * needs (risomatu want clean campaigns Abo, students need access to art affordable edu cation. and Smith wn a key play er In allotting Oregon bitten funds to college scholarships He oppose* the Newt Gingrich plan to cut stu dent loans The president ofCrime Victims Unit ed endorses Smith for passing tougher crime bw* and penalties, specifically one* aimed at »*** offenders and stalking Finally. Smith is work tng to save Medicare and the Oregon Health Plan l have met him on several occasions and admire how he answers questions directly without tb« usual rhetoric heard from most politicians 1 support (Gordon Smith because of his triumphs a* the state legislator's Senate President, his plans for Washington and his character, Gail Johnson CoHsqs Republican Federated Co-cftmneoman ETTEBS PQUCY The Oregon Darfy wtfl attempt to pom tf leaert contaawtg comments on topics at Merest to the University community Loners to the odrtor must be Hmttad to no more wan 250 eons*, legate stgned and the ajeneftca bon ot me writer most be ventied when We letter is submmeo The f meneW reserve# me ngnt to eCH any letter •or lengm or sryt*